By Hope Kirwan
Gov. Tony Evers is looking to bolster support for Wisconsin’s agricultural exports amid the threat of new tariffs from the Trump administration on the state’s top trading partners.
Evers announced Wednesday he plans to include $80 million in budget proposals related to food and agriculture in his next state budget.
The Democratic governor will present his plan for the next two-year budget on Feb. 18, which will likely face opposition from the Republican-controlled state Legislature.
Much of the funding continues or expands support for existing state programs. That includes the Wisconsin Initiative for Agricultural Exports, a $5 million program created in 2021 to increasing the value of dairy, meat and crop exports by 25 percent within five years.
Evers is proposing $171,300 in new funding for the initiative as well as a new full-time staff member. The governor also proposed creating a full-time agricultural economist at the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to help inform decisions around long-term import and export markets for the state.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Evers said he is concerned President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs against Wisconsin’s top trading partners, especially Canada, could hurt demand for agricultural products.
“I’ve had a chance to talk to the leaders of both Ontario and another province, and both of them talked about the fact that they buy a lot of dairy from our state and dairy products from our state,” Evers told reporters. “They feel that the efforts on the side of our federal government are going to do nothing but make that more difficult.”
Trump pulled back on 25 percent tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico on Monday after both countries agreed to increase border security efforts. The tariffs are on pause for 30 days.
Trump did impose a 10 percent tariff on products from China this week, prompting the Chinese government to place their own tariffs on U.S. goods including farm equipment and vehicles.
DATCP secretary Randy Romanski said the three countries being targeted for tariffs made up about 60 percent of the state’s ag exports over the last decade.
“They’re very important markets to our state, and we’re hopeful that we’ll continue to see Wisconsin products have an opportunity to compete in the global marketplace,” Romanski told reporters Wednesday.
‘Truth-in-labeling’, farmer-led conservations among budget proposals
Evers’ budget proposals include new state restrictions on the use of terms like “milk,” preventing non-dairy alternatives from using the label. Often referred to as “truth-in-labeling” laws, Republicans in the state Legislature have introduced similar measures in the last three sessions, including a bill with bipartsan support in 2023.
The governor also proposed label protections for manoomin, or wild rice, that would ensure only products harvested with traditional techniques can the use the label “traditionally harvested.”
Ever’s proposed budget includes $1 million dollars in additional funding for the state’s popular Producer-Led Watershed Protection grant program. Forty-nine local watershed groups across the state have received funding to promote conservation practices by farmers and landowners to prevent runoff and improve water quality.
“According to DATCP, annual interest in the program continues to exceed the program budget,” Evers told reporters. “This funding cycle received the highest number of requests in the program’s history, which is outstanding.”
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